The present invention relates to the generation of data records for traffic information systems. The invention serves the purpose of automating the transmission of worker location and activity allowing traffic information systems to represent the activity of workers directing traffic and/or pedestrians in and around roadways.
The operation of the modern highway system and its navigation requires precise information on the presence and the activities of construction workers. Current highway operations in many of the United States require only the roughest reports on where workers are active. These processes generally require the workers to schedule work in advance and place a phone call to the transportation agency as a means of reporting. Such phone calls tend to be forgotten or ignored and are not used to update changes in location as work progresses. As a result, the transportation agency's traffic management centers generally have little data on the activities of flaggers and other workers.
The invention embeds an electronic controller and radio, or modem, into the handle of the stop paddle. The handle may be short as in a crossing guard's stop sign, or it may be a long pole, or a section of a collapsible pole, that can rest on the ground as in a construction application. By including the reporting capability into the traffic control apparatus, the stop paddle, the task of tracking flagging activity is reduced to the flip of a switch and minute-by-minute updates of work location and status happen without effort on the part of the worker. Examples of the implementation of the electronics in various stop paddles are shown in FIG. 1.